Into the Abyss
by LoveLifeForever
Summary: Naruto thought he was having a tough time dealing with Akatsuki? Wait until he sees what the East Blue has in store for him!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto was in the Hokage's office. A week ago, he had dealt with Nagato and turned him to their side. In exchange, Nagato had brought back the dead within Konoha. Two days ago, Tsunade had woken from a short coma. Naruto would never know that his decision to watch over her had prevented ROOT from keeping her in a jutsu induced coma. Earlier that day, he had finally visited the World's Finest Medic in her new office where she was recovering from her exhaustion. An hour ago, he had finally brought up the subject of his parents. Ten minutes ago, it had dissolved into a shouting match. Two minutes ago, it had cooled down to a heated talk.

"I should have been told a while ago! I'm not the smartest person, but I'm no idiot either! I don't go around yelling about Kyuubi when Akatsuki comes around or use it to scare people. Why did you think I couldn't keep my mouth shut about the Fourth?"

"Mostly gaki? It was just Jiraiya's decision. I don't think he wanted to tell you about it because he didn't want to have to think about the Fourth. If you'd known about the Fourth being your dad, you'd have asked Jiraiya to tell you stories. He didn't want to have to face that, so he didn't tell you. It was a dick move, but it was one of many. There was more than one reason I refused the pervert's advances. He was all dick in more ways than one. The man had no sense of responsibility at all."

Naruto could actually believe that. Jiraiya _had_ been the closest thing Naruto had to a father, but he was only the _closest thing_. Even Naruto knew he wasn't father material. As bad as Naruto was on his own all those years, he wondered how much worse he might have been under the pervert's influence from day one like he'd sometimes wondered.

He shuddered before shrugging off the anger. He still loved his Ero-sennin, but the bastard had two punches in the gut coming the next time they met, just like Jiji had a few for all the stupid shit he pulled as a Kage. They were called the Kage for a reason. When Jiji put his foot down, even Naruto had known he was out of line and apologized. Jiji scared the shit out of the world's boogeymen even when he was old, so he had no business getting pushed over like that. Even Itachi and Kisame hadn't bothered coming around until after he was gone.

"Okay, I get that much, but I want my inheritance… now. There's no way the only key to it was in a building that stands out like a target in the middle of the village. Too much could be lost forever doing stupid shit like that. Sure the person that blew it up wouldn't get away, but it would still be gone."

Tsunade sighed. "We'll need to go to the Deep Archives. Follow me, gaki."

With that, they began making their way towards the Hokage Mountain. Naruto took the time to take in the state of the village and its inhabitants, many of which waved at him. Naruto smiled and waved back, happy to see so many people taking the time to enjoy his company. He had finally achieved half of his dream; everyone acknowledged him. Now he just needed to get that hat! Naruto shook himself out of his daydream as they reached the base of the Mountain.

With a nod, Tsunade moved past an ANBU that Naruto had only just now noticed. Despite their efforts to save the village, those masks still creeped Naruto out. Still, he gave a nod of respect to the ninja that dedicated their life solely to the defense of the village. They sacrificed a lot more than even he ever did in their duties, and they had never failed to protect him from the few mobs that had the nerve to oppose his Jiji.

Passing through a hidden entrance, the duo went deep into the mountain. The Hokage Deep Archives was the name that Tsunade used for it, but the ANBU called it by another name – Kagegakure no Toshokan, "The Library Hidden in the Shadows". It was a clever name, as this one was, in fact, hidden within the Fire Shadows. It was also a doubly secret Library, as there was another, less top secret library within the mountain, the Konoha Library Archive. This Kage library was also hidden in the 'shadow' of its sister – like hiding a shuriken within the shadow of another – disguising the intentions of those who visited it and confusing those who sought this 'secret' of Konoha. The entrance Tsunade used was simply shorter than using the various tunnels that led from the Archive Library to the Deep Archives through the various checkpoints by which it was secured.

As they were walking, the duo passed several doors that Naruto figured were exits and entrances to other parts of the village and surroundings. Naruto also wondered if the Mountain might be the true home of the ANBU squads when they weren't on duty, living under the previous Kage as the served the current one. There wasn't an actual building in the village to house even the face of the ANBU. When they went on missions, it was by delegation from the Hokage. No client could visit them in person, and it served as a further hindrance to long-term infiltration. They were the Hokage's personal squad, and answered only to him. Naruto had searched for a building high and low, but he never found it.

Naruto had never managed to prank them, making them the elite among the ninja ranks and the only group never to be pranked. Not that he would have done anything more than draw silly pictures. Naruto respected them _far_ too much to do anything more than have fun with them when he could, and he had instinctively known that their attitudes while on the job wouldn't have suffered his brand of anarchy. He also could have compromised them, and Naruto counted his childhood protectors as precious people. Only with their consent would a prank war begin… and Naruto very much looked forward to the day he earned that. It would probably be the day he became Hokage.

Finally they came to a door marked with the kanji for Hokage. Tsunade bit her thumb and ran it along a seal on the inside of the hat. Out popped a ring, which Tsunade placed on her finger before using it to open the door. Inside lay several chests, shelves and other items. Just inside and to the right, however, was a chest with 'Ecchi' inscribed into it. Just above it, 'Yondaime' was inscribed in kanji on the wall, with a whirlpool symbol below it. Tsunade gestured Naruto forward.

"Naruto, this swirl is a seal made by your father and mother. It was created so that he could, in the unlikely event of his death, leave you everything that belonged to him and your mother. They built an estate that held everything of value which wasn't already in the small apartment they used. No one, not even the Third or Jiraiya, knew where it was. I think your dad anticipated that they would be pressured into revealing it if they knew the location."

"He was probably right. Jiji and Ero-sennin barely stuck up for me as it was. I never worried about mobs, but fair prices weren't possible until after the Suna invasion."

Tsunade shook her head, still a little angry at the village for its treatment of Naruto. "You will need to put your blood on the seal and channel your chakra into it. I don't know what you will find, but it is yours now. The pervert and Kakashi also left you some stuff. I know Kakashi is still alive, but he told me that you should take it when he found out you knew about your inheritance. They're in that chest."

"When did you have time to talk to Kakashi?" Naruto was more than a little confused. He'd been with Tsunade the entire time, and Kakashi definitely hadn't come around during the walk.

Tsunade smirked. "You're not the only one that uses Kage Bunshin, gaki. I'm just more subtle about it."

Naruto laughed at that. "You're still pretty sneaky, baa-chan!"

Tsunade smacked him into the ground before turning to leave. "I'll see you in about a week."

"Hey not so fast, baa-chan!" Naruto interrupted. When she turned to look at him, Naruto got surprisingly sheepish. Looking at the ground while scuffing his feet, Naruto continued, "I'm going to my dad's place, but I'd like some company, ya know? I mean if you're busy that's okay-"

"I'd love to go, Naruto-kun," Tsunade interrupted, pulling Naruto into a hug with a soft smile. It had gotten to her surprisingly fast to see Naruto get meek so quickly, awakening motherly instincts she usually forgot about. The blonde haired knucklehead had really grown on her.

Naruto melted into the hug. It was soft, and not in the pervy way. It had so much warmth that it just made him want to stand there all day and get hugged like that. It had never happened before, but Naruto desperately hoped it would happen again. "Thanks baa-chan. I love you."

"I love you, too, Naruto-kun." Tsunade had to stifle a tear. Really warm moments were rare for both of them. Sunny moments were the bread and butter of Naruto's interactions, but mellow warmth like this was a lot better. "You know, you're a lot more fun to be around when you aren't as loud. I'd probably spend more time if you could be… soft like this more often."

"Really?" Naruto had never had anyone compliment him like this before. It was really nice to have someone say that they would like to spend time with him. He usually had to demand that sort of attention from the people he cared about. "…I'd like that. So, want to walk with me to my dad's house?"

Tsunade chuckled a little. "First you have to open the seal, Naruto."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right, yeah that. Well, here goes nothing."

There was a yellow flash as Naruto activated the seal, and a scroll appeared in midair. Naruto grabbed it before it could fall, noting a silvery talisman hanging from the end. With shaky hands, Naruto opened the letter his mom and dad had left. Inside, he recognized two swirls, knowing exactly what they would be. With a trembling arm, Naruto pushed chakra into each of the swirls. Out popped a clone of each of his parents.

"Hello sochi," said the beautiful redhead standing next to Naruto's dad.

Naruto's lip trembled before he leapt into the arms of his parents and cried. Tsunade cried in her corner, honored to be witness to such a touching moment. As they all pulled away, Naruto had the first genuine smile Tsunade could ever recall seeing on him. Somehow, instinctively, she knew this one was more real than all the rest put together.

The Fourth looked around, noted where they were, then looked at the chest nearby. "Hey Naruto, you might want to open the chest. I figured Jiraiya might have something like this inside. I'm sure he updated it before he died, and I'd like a word with him about a few things. I know exactly how your life has been up 'til now, and he has some explaining to do."

Naruto nodded before opening the chest. Inside, on top of the pile, Naruto found a scroll like the one he had just opened. Pushing chakra into the seal, Naruto had to resist the urge to punch the pervert for leaving him like that, without even saying goodbye. "Ero-sennin, the only reason I'm not punching you is because I _really _want some answers before you're gone. Why'd you leave me like that?"

The man turned, saw Naruto and paled. Then he saw Tsunade and paled further. Coming face to face with Minato and Kushina, his face lost all color. "Well, damn."

Tsunade smiled a cruel smile and punched her fist into her hand. "You are _very_ lucky I don't want to ruin this for the gaki, Jiraiya, or I might punch you hard enough for the real you to feel it in the afterlife."

Minato took a step forward, a frown upon his face. "Ero-sennin, why didn't you raise Naruto? I know you aren't the best candidate, but as even a stop-gap measure it would have been better than Konoha. Kakashi could have taken over after a few years. He may be a teenager, but he's also responsible."

Naruto couldn't prevent his snickers any longer. They quickly turned into a full-bellied laugh. It took him nearly ten minutes to calm down. "Oh man, that was hilarious; I can't believe he just said that! The pervert is absolutely no example of a father – even if he is the closest thing I have to one – and _I _can be more responsible than Kakashi at times. Surely you saw that in my memories, right dad?"

Minato smiled sheepishly. "I forgot."

Kushina face-palmed as Naruto chuckled some more. "Seriously Ero-sennin, how could you leave me and Minato's son like that? You better not have been using the time to peep on women!"

Jiraiya sighed. "Yeah I peeked some, but most of those early years were spent feeding misinformation to the others in the Big Five. My network in Kumo slipped – that nearly started a war when they found out how weakened we were – and I was keeping an eye out for that bastard of a teammate afterwards. It might have gotten Naruto killed, taking him with me. Not doing what I was doing was equally out of the question, for the same reason."

Kushina huffed. "Well I still don't like it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Alright Jiraiya, I've got three more questions for you. Why didn't you ever tell me I was Dad's kid. Why didn't you tell me you were my godfather. Finally, why the HELL didn't you say goodbye before heading off on a possible suicide mission! You could have at least sent a clone!"

Jiraiya sighed some more. "The first two have no explanation. I was just being a coward. I didn't want to face the questions about Minato because it hurt. Really, I ran from my problems worse than you did Tsu-hime. At least you were honest about what you were doing. As for the third? I knew _exactly_ what kind of knucklehead you were, Naruto. If you'd known I was heading off to danger, would you have let me go alone?"

"Hell, no! I'd have been right beside you!" Then Naruto thought about what he said, sighed and nodded in defeat. "Okay, I get it Ero-Sennin. Without my Sage training I would have been done for."

Jiraiya ruffled his hair. "Glad you understand Naruto. I am sorry about the rest, but that's one decision I'll never apologize for. No matter how much of an ass I was at times, I always cared about you. I'm just utter shit at showing it."

Tsunade laughed. "He really is. I remember this one time he tried to ask me on a date! He perved on me in the middle of asking me out! His exact words were 'Tsunade, will you go boobs with me?' I know what he meant to say, but it was obvious what he had on the brain."

They all laughed as storm clouds rained over Jiraiya. "I thought we agreed to never mention that again."

"That was before you pulled all this shit _and_ told the gaki about my early life," she replied. "Consider us even on the private things front."

Minato decided it was time to move on to more important things. "Naruto, we've got a lot of chakra, but if we want to get through everything before nightfall, we'll want to head out now."

Tsunade nodded. "Everyone, throw on one of the spare ANBU cloaks and generic masks over there in the corner. We keep them around for when we don't want people to panic at dangerous or scary personas showing up in the village for diplomatic reasons."

Jiraiya interrupted them. "Naruto, there is one more from the Old Man in there. You'll want to get him out and send for Kakashi. Seal the chest in your jacket."

"Have him meet us at the top of the Mountain, Naruto. We'll head out from there."

Naruto grabbed the scroll and tucked it into his belt before sending out a clone to get Kakashi.

Once everyone bar Tsunade and Naruto was dressed up, they headed out. Naruto's clone for Kakashi dispelled, sending the message that he knew it was an emergency and to come with all haste to the top of the Mountain. Naruto had decided to not tell Kakashi what was going on as paybacks for all the times the one-eyed pervert had blown him off.

BreakBreakBreakBreakBreak

When Kakashi arrived at the top Naruto nodded to him before turning to Minato, who had the hood up to fully disguise himself. With a nod, the Fourth led them toward's the Namikaze Estate. Kakashi, noticing where they were heading, caught up with Minato and matched him the entire way there. When they arrived at the gate, Kakashi immediately placed himself in front of it, only to find that the mystery guest was no longer there. That's when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder, jumping away instinctivey, the Copy-nin went into a defensive stance, only to be surprised by Naruto's laughter.

"Naruto what the hell is going on? I know for a fact that no one but you and Tsunade should be here, so who are the other three." Then he turned white as a ghost as Minato pulled out the scroll he had been stored in and pulled back his hood.

"Why Kakashi, don't you recognize my handiwork?"

"S-sensei? Is this another of the Bunshin Scrolls?"

Minato nodded. "Hai. You should know that I would leave one for Naruto. There's no way I would let him face the world without giving one last goodbye."

"It's so good to see you, sensei!" Kakashi lunged forward and gave the man that had been like a father to him a hug. "I missed you so much Minato-oji."

When the two were done, they both wiped their eyes and Kakashi pulled down his mask. Naruto's jaw dropped. It wasn't that Kakashi was gorgeous or anything, he had just never expected to have the pervert pull off his mask. It was always there, like the Hokage Mountain or ramen. 'I guess everyone has to drop their masks some time. Besides, I don't swing that way, no matter what rumors say. Seriously, _one_ accidental kiss and everyone starts putting sexual tension where it _doesn't_ belong.'

The other two pulled off their hoods and they all joined Kakashi and Minato at the gate. Minato leaned over to Naruto. "Sochi, I need you to put your blood on this medallion, place it in the middle of the gate and channel your chakra. It will open only for that combination."

Naruto did as he was instructed and suddenly realized that there was a huge fence and a gate in front of him, with a quite luxurious house behind it. "Where did that come from."

"It's been there the whole time, Naruto, it's just that people which aren't keyed into it can't see it. I've been here several times. The seal barrier Minato-sensei put up let me in and kept others from following me, but you are the only one with master access. Until you did that, only you and I could get in. No offense Jiraiya-sama, but you and the Third didn't have much back bone back then, and there was no point in me telling you until Naruto knew about the house. It was your own fault you never got in."

The man hung his head and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, rub that one in, why don't ya?"

Minato spoke up. "Speaking of the Third, Naruto, you should probably open up that scroll. It should have another copy of the Third so we can all speak together. He, too, has some answers to give."

Naruto looked at him, thought for a second, then looked at Tsunade with an expression of severe confusion. "Ummm… Tsunade-baachan, why didn't you have me use Jiraiya's scroll to find out what happened in Ame?"

Tsunade sighed. "The thing is, gaki, I didn't know the sealed clones could receive knowledge like that. It would take a genius-level work of fuinjutsu to allow chakra to work on a one-way channel like that to transfer knowledge without interfering with the clone stored inside. Obviously, I forgot who the Fourth was. He would have taught this to Jiraiya, who would have taught the Third. I imagine the Third probably left a similar technique for his family, but I can't be sure. Also, I'm not sure Jiraiya ever used shadow clones in Ame. He always preferred the Mud Bunshin or Iwa Bunshin over Kage Bunshin."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, that does make sense. I also probably wouldn't have done very well if I had met Jiraiya back then. I'm still fighting the urge to plant my fist in his face."

Jiraiya smirked. "I'd like to see you try, gaki."

Minato smirked proudly at Jiraiya. "I'd like to see you stop him, Jiraiya. You didn't see him take out Nagato like a punk. This kid really has what it takes to put you down if he wants to. He may not be as fast as me, but neither are you."

Naruto decided to interrupt this by summoning the Third. As soon as the smoke from the unsealing cleared, Naruto lunged to hug his jiji. "!"

For a moment, the two of them just hugged like that. It had been three years since the Third had faced off against Orochimaru, and he was a little unprepared for the powerful young man the blonde had become since then. Thus he was knocked on his rear.

The others looking on chuckled a bit, but Naruto ignored them. All was now right in the world. He had his family together, or as many of them as could be expected to be there, and they were about to spend some serious quality time together.

They all moved to the living room. From there, Naruto had several questions answered for him. He asked the Third about the Hyuuga incident and the Uchiha Massacre and why they weren't stopped. He knew there had to be someone from Konoha in on it, because his pranks had happened in remote parts of the village as well, and he'd been caught any time they got out of line. It had taken him a few years to figure it out, but Naruto knew his Jiji had a hand in it, and that knowledge had hurt like a bitch.

Naruto also questioned Jiraiya on his training methods over the three year period they were gone. Naruto knew his dad was much more capable when it came to taijutsu, and he was more than a little hacked off that he hadn't even approached that level after three years under Jiraiya. He just hadn't brought it up at the time because that method didn't seem to work.

Both of them answered him, although he didn't like the answers. Sarutobi admitted that he had wanted to punish the Hyuuga a bit for the arrogance they had shown over the years by using their political influence to curb all efforts to halt the Caged Bird Seal. He had also admitted to taking the easy route when Itachi offered to wipe them out, although he admitted that he expected more Uchiha to survive, especially among the young.

As for Jiraiya, he had told Naruto that most of that time was spent _trying_ to improve his mind. He refused to help the blonde out until he let go of some of his knuckleheaded ways and buckled down mentally. So he helped him with the stuff others didn't have the skill to do, like Kyuubi and the Rasengan. Although Naruto was angry, he knew the man meant well. If Naruto had actually gotten that much strength without tempering his temper, it could have spelled a disaster. Besides, Jiraiya hadn't counted on dying so early and not being around to protect Naruto when no one else could.

They talked for a while, telling stories. Naruto found out he had nearly been named Mikoto or Mito because his parents didn't know if he was a boy or a girl, having waited until he was born. Finally, Naruto decided to find out what all they had left to him before time ran out. "Alright, this is a lot of fun, but I know you each left me something, a legacy of sorts. I want to get it all out of the way before we run out of time, just in case."

Jiraiya went first. "Well, that's not likely to happen. These aren't shadow clones, gaki, they're blood clones. You can't use them very much because they take a lot out of a person, laying them out for a month to initially form. People at our level don't have that kind of time. The First's wife invented them, and they are a closely guarded secret of the Uzumaki family. I didn't teach you much during the trip, but that doesn't mean I hadn't planned ahead. I left the secret to the Kage Bunshin in a note on top of everything else I gave you."

"Under that, I put a copy of every jutsu I knew, as well as several books of stories from my time in the war so you could hear about some of the tricks others pulled on me and the ones I used in return. I also put in everything I'd learned about dealing with people, from interrogation to _seduction_. I figured if I could just teach you to like learning, you would be able to do the rest faster than I could. You _needed_ to learn that first, gaki."

"I don't need that pervy stuff, sensei, but thank you for the rest. I promise you all right now I'll learn everything you left for me." At their incredulous looks he bristled in irritation. "Hey, just 'cause I don't _like_ learning, doesn't mean I'd dishonor people's work like that! You put a lot of work into leaving that stuff for me, and I'm gonna learn it all, no matter how boring it might be. Except that pervy stuff!"

The Third laughed. "Well, Naruto-kun, I knew what Jiraiya and Kakashi would be doing as far as jutsu went, so I just made sure they didn't miss any. As for the rest, I left several kata of stances for weapons I thought you would use. There are some for a bo staff, a sword, twin short swords and even tiger claws. There are a few more as well, but I don't remember what they were. On top of that, I put in everything I knew about mastering your chakra. I'm an adept user of genjutsu and good with medical jutsu, as well, so I put in tips I thought you could use to try and learn them. It's up to you if you want to do so, though."

"I already made a promise that I would learn everything, Jiji, and I never go back on my word! I haven't before, and I'm not going to start now. If it takes me a hundred years, I'll learn everything you've got! That's my nindo!" Minato and Kushina smiled with pride, while Kakashi looked at him in a new light. Jiraiya just smiled smugly. Naruto turned to look at his parents.

"So what did you leave me?" The two looked at each other before smiling sheepishly. "Actually, Naruto-kun, we kind of forgot to move everything out of our apartment before the Kyuubi attack. It was stomped to pieces."

Naruto began crying to himself. About a second later, they both cracked up laughing. "Oh Minato-koi, I can't believe he fell for that! I haven't gotten to prank someone in forever! It was soooo funnnnnyyyyy!"

Naruto pouted at having been caught out, but he smiled not long after at having something in common with his mom. He knew so little about his family that this was nice to learn about, especially when it came to his mom. "You did pranks, too?"

"Your mother was a nightmare with a bucket of paint, Naruto. Granted, she never did anything quite as… _grand_ as your last prank, but she was still quite talented."

"Oh, really? Our little Naruto is that good? What was your last prank, Naruto?"

"I painted the Hokage Mountain in broad daylight!" Minato and Kushina burst into laughter, as did Jiraiya. He'd never heard about this one. Kakashi smiled, fondly remembering the day it had happened.

"Oh it was more than that," said Kakashi. "He painted it all, starting at dawn. He gave the Shodaime a clown face, put a full set of geisha features on the Nidaime and a sign that said 'anything if you pay me', gave the Third a nosebleed and put blinders on the Fourth. Even back then he knew that sensei could be optimistic to a fault, genius that he was."

"He also knew the Nidaime's true nature," cut in Sarutobi. "The man was my sensei and Hokage, and I respect him for those things, but he was a power-hungry whore. He spouted to a lot of people that they must do everything for Konoha, but since he _was_ Konoha, that meant they did it for him. He hated the Uchiha as rivals to his power, and I suspect he orchestrated much of Madara's hatred of Konoha in order to secure his own position as Hokage."

"Madara was the only other viable candidate if Hashirama left office before he died. Without him, the job of Hokage was kept 'in the family' so to speak. Fortunately, the Nidaime's influence never caught in wider circles, and I was able to partially break his hold by giving the position of Hokage to Minato, even if he was a successor of ideals. He also taught Danzo an idiotic theory he cooked up that the Sharingan itself was a source of madness and that all Uchiha must die. I think it was the start of the eventual Massacre, which was at least partially, if not mostly, Danzo's fault. Thus, Konoha's troubles are the Nidaime's fault."

They laughed for a while and talked about pranks done before Naruto's parents finally spoke. "Actually Naruto, since we didn't know exactly what you would be good at, we left a manual for every basic skill we could think of. I was rather skilled with weapons, so I've left you manuals on using wires, shuriken, kunai, sai, swords of all sizes and shapes, polearms, kama, fans, archery, you name it. I also left you a book on how to make the chakra chains I used to use, in case you were capable of the same thing. I'm not sure if you are, but there's only one thing for it."

Minato interjected here. "As for me, well I didn't know what you would be good at either, so I left you everything I had learned about the human body and about chakra. I wanted you to at least be able to equal if not surpass me as one of the best men alive in close combat, and my training methods were very… unique. Aside from that, there was a large library of shape manipulation. Any jutsu that used neutral chakra, I learned, from rasengan to chakra strings and everything in between. I also left you a manual for learning the five types of chakra elements. Even if you only had one natural affinity, I figured you could work for the other four as well with the chakra pool you would have."

"What do you mean, Dad? I thought people only had one kind of affinity?"

"Naruto," Kakashi said. "Do you remember what I told you about chakra natures?"

"Sure, sensei. Everyone has an element they are in tune with. Some are attuned to more than one element by a bloodline ability, but other than that, everyone only has one natural affinity."

"Exactly, Naruto. Now you've seen me use many jutsu. I'm telling you now I don't have a bloodline, so how do I use the rest of them?"

Naruto scratched his chin in thought. "Well, I guess your Sharingan copied them and that lets you use them?"

"You're only half-right, Naruto," said Kakashi. "It is true that people only have one affinity. It is also true that the Sharingan can let someone copy a jutsu. That being said, they _can't _use a jutsu they haven't worked for the affinity for without burning a good deal more chakra. It might be better for Uchiha, but it wouldn't be that much better, otherwise Uchiha would use more than Fire all the time. I've got some pretty good reserves, but there's no way all the jutsu I copied would be of any use if I didn't have the affinity to pull them off. They'd wear me out too fast."

Kakashi paused to take a drink before continuing. "So, anytime I copied a jutsu with handseals, I learned the affinity for it. It could take a while sometimes, but I knew until I had them down copying the jutsu wouldn't do much good. Due to the war with Iwa, Earth obviously came first. It was easy because a lot of jutsu were more shape manipulation than nature manipulation, thus much less draining without an affinity – things like Earth and Water dragons that came out of the ground or lake. The only reason I haven't done that for Wind is because most users in Konoha master the affinity enough to not need hand seals. Anyone outside of Konoha that uses it seems to have the same tendency. It makes it harder to copy. I actually have a minor affinity, but I haven't worked at it as much."

Naruto's face dawned with understanding. "So what you're saying is that I could actually master all five? That would be so awesome! Sure it'll be hard, but it'll be so worth to see the teme's face when I throw a fireball at him! Hah! Bow to the awesomeness of Naruto-sama, Sasuke-teme! Bwahahahahaaaa- OW!"

Tsunade's fist was imbedded in his skull. "Never do that again, gaki. It's creepy like the Pedo-teme."

The others all nodded in agreement as Naruto looked up, so he said, "We never speak of this again."

"Agreed."

Minato decided to break up the awkwardness. "Anyway, Naruto-kun, we also left our most prized legacy – Fuinjutsu and ramen recipes."

"Y-you made recipes for… for r-ramen?" They nodded at Naruto. Naruto had stars in his eyes as he hugged them. "I love my family so much!"

Kushina giggled. "Don't forget the Fuinjutsu, Naruto. It's what Minato excelled in the most, but the Uzumaki were infamous for their abilities in the field. Before they were destroyed, the clan managed to send me the entire Library with a Double Reverse Summoning. We left it and everything else we had on seals in the basement library, along with everything else."

Kakashi spoke up. "That's also where I left all of the jutsu scrolls from myself and Sandaime-sama. Sorry Sandaime, but I didn't want to risk Danzo making off with them."

The Third laughed. "So that's where they got off to. Danzo was quite irritated when the Wind scrolls he had left for me to study went missing. I believe he still has a bounty out for the thief's hands."

Kakashi laughed nervously. "You wouldn't try to send him a message from beyond the grave… would you? I swear it wasn't me that took your signed limited edition Icha Icha, it was Bear!"

The Third grumbled. "Damn that Ibiki and his poker face!"

They all laughed, before Minato remembered a few things. "Naruto, I have a few more things to pass on that the clone inside you didn't have time to say. I was low on chakra when I made that one, so there are a few things it thought of as it was fading. First off, I need to show you all of the seals around our house. The estate is what he remembered as he was fading. There was one other- oh yes! He wanted me to tell you two things that were very important."

Here Minato got quite serious. "First of all, when you are ready to take full control of the Kyuubi's chakra, Kushina will be there to help you. She left a clone behind to help make sure you weren't overwhelmed. The other thing was that- oh, just a second!"

Minato did a few handsigns and slammed a familiar purple seal into Naruto's gut. "There, now the fuzz-butt won't hear anything. Here's the thing Naruto. You're only going to be fighting the Yang half of Kyuubi. The Yin half is actually sealed behind the Yang, so you have to get through it first."

The others exploded, although Jiraiya was the loudest. "Holy shit, you crazy-ass blonde gaki! You don't do anything by half do you! Fucking shit of the Shinigami's ghost, that's a crazy-ass plan! How does the Kyuubi not know it's there?"

Minato got a secret smile on his face that the pervert had seen many times before. "Seals, sensei! There was no way I was only going to put one half of the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto, it would have thrown his chakra system horribly off if I did. Having too much of either Yin or Yang beyond a certain point cuts off classes of jutsu entirely, and I couldn't cripple him like that. He still had trouble with learning, but that was a _learned _response, and it showed in his ability to learn when he wants to."

"Having an unbalanced chakra system is like only ever using one type of weapon – it cuts off the ability to be creative and use more of the tools in the ninja trade. It's why you only see those like Kakashi who have a balanced approach throwing around all manner of jutsu. Those that specialize have a hard time with certain brands of jutsu, like Gai with ninjutsu, or the Kurama clan with taijutsu."

"It's really a bit of irony. The Shinigami helped me trick everyone into thinking I was putting it into myself, even that old trickster of a fox! I'm using the Kyuubi to guard itself and buffer its own negative emotions! The whole 'even the Shinigami couldn't hold all of it' was utter bullshit. It's a kami, and that outranks _all_ bijuu."

Kushina piped up here. "I think that tops even _your _prank, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded in utter awe at his dad. He really _was _one in a million. "You'll get no argument from me."

Minato continued. "The Yin holds more of the negative emotions of the Kyuubi than the Yang – don't ask me why. Even I haven't figured out exactly why that is. Anyway, I figure that by putting it in there, it will leak into the Kyuubi but keep the Kyuubi from tainting Naruto's mind too much. It took years to build up that hatred you felt on the bridge, Naruto. If you can gain control of the Yang chakra, it will help you defeat the Yin chakra. A warning, though – the Yin is far more mentally potent. You'll need to have steeled your will a great deal more to face it. With the Yang it's more a measure of power and control."

Tsunade just stared slack-jawed. "I know everyone bandies about words like prodigy and genius, but I really think they just never met you and Itachi. If they had, it would be used a lot less often. That Lee kid _is_ a genius of hard work like he proclaims, but he's the only one in your generation, Naruto. You mastered the Kage Bunshin so fast because you've got chakra to burn. Don't get me wrong, you're still a force to be reckoned with, but it's not like with Lee or your father. They are just in a league of their own in their fields of choice, and no one else comes close."

Naruto nodded. "Again, no arguments from me on either side. In my defense, I didn't have too many teachers that wanted to answer questions. They wouldn't send me out, but after a few weeks of being ignored I stopped listening. It probably frustrated Iruka; by the time he came in I didn't want to learn. I really owe him an apology for all the times he tried to help."

With that, they were done. For the next several hours, they talked and laughed about stories old and new. They had also taken the time to let Naruto get settled in. Clones had gone to fetch all of Naruto's things, what few were in his tent. When they returned, the group had taken a tour of the house, getting rooms ready as they talked. Minato made sure to show Naruto every secret compartment and security array he knew about in the house. The man had been rightfully paranoid when he built the veritable fortress, and he made sure Naruto knew how to use it all, or where to find out how to use it all.

Naruto got several tips on jutsu as they moved through the house, and stories to go with each tip. His dad had also handed him a copy of the secret to the Hirashin, although he offered to explain it right then. When Naruto said he wanted to see if he could figure it out on his own, Minato had smirked proudly and a little smugly. He would have the scroll to work from, just in case. It would still be a lot of work, but Naruto was now ready to face what the future held.

As the day was finishing up, Minato had a suggestion for Naruto. "I know that we've left you a lot of things, but I'm thinking there might be times where you could use some advice. Thus, I think you should seal us into your Seal. Whenever you need help, you can visit us in your mind. If need be, we can be released into the real world, but I think it might be good to have something prepared if you are ever captured and need discreet advice."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You really think we could do that? That I could have you in my mind? I know that Kakashi-sensei can help me learn a lot of the jutsu and stuff, but you're right. Sometimes, I'll just need a willing ear to rely on or someone to give advice. It could get boring, though. Are you sure you would want to do that?"

Minato smiled. "It wouldn't be that boring, actually. Just like I did with the Kyuubi's seal, I can link the seals so that we can see what you see. With time, I might even think up a way for us to talk to each other and you without you entering the seal, although this might drain our chakra faster. All five of us would love to be available to help you."

Kakashi butted in at this moment, swiping the scroll with his clone and unsealing it in a poof of smoke. Another noise signaled the release of a shadow clone. Then Kakashi spoke. Both of them.

"Besides, it's not as if-"

"-We have anything-"

"-Better to do with-"

"-Our time."

Naruto sighed, running his hand down his face. "I knew I shouldn't have taken you to see the movies. The Twins were hilarious, but following their conversation in the books was annoying."

Just as the five Clones were about to be sealed into Naruto, Minato had pulled out one of his kunai and gave it to Naruto. "Let's see you figure it out, then, Naruto-kun. I'm counting on you! Don't worry. The scroll will be able to explain everything, and I can explain the scroll!"

With that, and a final round of goodbyes, they left Naruto to get ready for bed.

BreakBreakBreakBreakBreak

It had been nearly a month since Naruto had talked with his parents. In that time, Naruto had helped out with the cleanup and studied from his parents' library. He had yet to talk to any of the clones, as Naruto wanted to save the precious time they had for possible future problems. Currently, Naruto was working on the one thing he knew could help them beat Akatsuki: Hirashin.

Naruto's dad had warned him that it would be hard, but Naruto really believed he could figure this out. He had worked out the basics of the kunai, and was planning a small test run.

Naruto channeled chakra into the seal and threw it at the floor, but nothing happened. He tried again, but still nothing happened. He summoned a horde of clones, and _they_ each tried it with their kunai, yet nothing happened. Finally, Naruto decided to try to put as much power as he could into it. He sent out four clones to gather Nature chakra with orders to dispel only when they were ready. Twenty minutes later Naruto got a rush of chakra. He channeled every scrap of Sage chakra into the kunai.

Outside, Tsunade was walking up to the house, preparing to visit him. She knew he had been working a lot, and they had promised to talk more often. She walked through the gate, only to be greeted by a rush of chakra. She could only watch in frustrated disbelief as the entirety of the Namikaze estate – with her _still in it_ – was engulfed in an orange flash. "Damnit, gaki."

With that Naruto, Tsunade and the entire Namikaze estate vanished to parts unknown.

Coincidentally, the Nidaime's head, as well as a good portion of the Mountain heind him, was vaporized in an incredible release of chakra like a giant yellow flash. His head, which would take a while to put back in place, would forever be behind the rest, unable to share equally in their glory. The Third had the protective seals on the head removed when he entered office. It was also unfortunate that the incident killed the sleeping Danzo, who had long since slept in a cave behind the head of his mentor in secret.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you all for being so patient with me! I'm sorry for the long wait, but here's chapter two! I apologize in advance to those who dislike training chapters. For me, it's simply a good way of explaining how Naruto got so strong, as well as putting in a few explanations for future encounters without getting flashback happy. Read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece. Both belong to their respective authors. If I owned them, Ace wouldn't have been caught, Luffy wouldn't have left Amazon Lily, and Nagato would have given Naruto the Rinnegan before he died instead of leaving it for any idiot to grave rob.

Chapter Two

Naruto groaned as he woke up from his pain-induced slumber. "Oh kami, what the hell hit me? Better question is probably what did I hit? I don't get it though. Dad didn't say anything about it hurting like hell, so what did I do wrong to screw it up soooo much?"

It was about this point that Naruto noticed that his front yard had changed. Where before the large trees that dominated most of Konoha's surrounding forests had served as a comforting backdrop, the current trees were much smaller and of an entirely different species. They looked closer to the trees he usually saw growing in the fancy hotels Jiraiya would sometimes frequent. Beyond that, however, was a far more dramatic difference. A huge ocean, stretching so far into the distance that not even the hint of land could be had, now sat where the view of Konoha's southwestern fringe had once been.

Strange landscape aside, however, was a rather terrifying lawn ornament. Tsunade was passed out on the grass of his front lawn, arms splayed out to the sides. Now Naruto wasn't the brightest of men, but even he had heard the stories about what kunoichi did to nearby men when they woke up someplace and couldn't remember how they got there: they beat shit up.

Slowly, carefully, Naruto backed away from the window and ran to the kitchen, hoping beyond hope that his dad had some sake stored up to pacify the easily angered blond enough that she wouldn't outright kill him. Finding some, he quickly poured it into a saucer and carried bottle and saucer out to wait for the busty blonde to awaken.

It took about three hours for Tsunade to come to, and in that time Naruto sent out several groups of shadow clones to get the lay of the land, search for nearby settlements and store up some Sage chakra in case of possible conflict. He was hoping that what his scouts gathered might be enough to interest Tsunade so that she wouldn't pound his head in.

The scouts sent out to gather intel on where Naruto and his house had landed had finished outlining the island, and boy what an island. They were on the back end of a very large island, roughly the size of Wave country if it were gathered into one island. A mountain divided it into two parts, with the much larger half being Naruto's side. Rivers of fresh water ran down the side they could see and into a lake half the size of Konoha. The forest ran a rough ring about this lake on Naruto's half. The details of the other side, however, were entirely thanks to the sensory ability of Naruto's sage clones.

His settlement scouts had sent back more welcoming news in conjunction with the sage clones. Apparently, there were several groups of people on the other side of the huge mountain, with one having almost as many people as the village in Nami, nowhere close in population to one of the Big Five. There were also several very small parties roaming the forest that encompassed Naruto's half of the island. Naruto guessed they were either sailors, foragers from the other side of the mountain, or strangers that got lost - much like Naruto was at the moment.

A groan startled Naruto out of his musings as Tsunade awoke from her... nap. A few explanations later had Naruto on the ground in pain. Tsunade hadn't taken kindly to the news that he had no idea _how_ he had managed to transport himself, Tsunade and his father's house onto an island that neither were familiar with.

Naruto cringed as Tsunade slammed her hand into his head. "What do you _mean_, you don't know what you did? It was _your_ technique!"

"Well if you want to get _technical_ about it, it was actually my _dad's_ technique so-"

WHAM! Tsunade proceeded to pick up Naruto and throw him into a nearby tree. "I don't care _who_ came up with it Naruto! So help me, if you got us stuck on some deserted island with no way off, I'm gonna kill you!"

Naruto, amazingly, didn't seem very hurt by the blow. His Sage training had gone a long way towards increasing Naruto's durability.

"Baa-chan, it's okay! I'm positive we're not on a deserted island! I can feel people somewhere on the other side of those huge mountains, I just don't know where we are. It doesn't look like Water Country, 'cause it's too tropical. They're cold and damp, like a dungeon or a sewer." Naruto adopted a thoughtful expression. "Kinda explains their dreary outlooks on life."

Just as Tsunade was about to slam her hand onto Naruto for getting sidetracked - _again_- a voice spoke from behind them. "What are you doing on Amazon Lily! How did you get here? No men are allowed on this island! It is forbidden!"

Tsunade sighed and turned. Standing behind them was a woman with a moderate figure and long black hair, carrying some sort of spear. Tsunade wasn't really bothered by the weapon. She could beat the shit out of this woman with only one limb at her disposal, but that would be bad diplomacy. "I'm sorry for this. The idiot over there used a time-space technique that sent us through a portal without a target in mind, and the portal seems to have dropped us out here. Could you please take us to see the person in charge? We need to see if we can get in contact with our comrades."

Not understanding what Tsunade was talking about, the woman shook her head. "You may come with me, as you are a strong woman. He, however, must remain in our holding grounds until such time as we can remove him from the island."

"Hey, now wait just a minute. We _just_ got done saying that it was an accident! Besides, that's _my_ house. It's the only thing I have left from my parents! You want to see whether you can take it from me? Just try it! I'll give everything you send at me back a thousand fold!"

The woman now gripped her spear much more fiercely. "You think you can best _me_? I am a warrior of the Kuja tribe! We are the most powerful thing on this island, bar none. I'd watch my tone if I were you."

Naruto scoffed. "The odds of you actually being stronger than me aren't that high, but the odds of you outmatching me and her? You might as well kiss your ass goodbye in that fight. She could beat you with just one arm. Hell, she might beat both of us by herself. She might be polite to you, but the chances of her picking a stranger over her own are about as good as your chances of getting laid, little lady! So back off!"

Tsunade smiled. "The kid's got a point about my strength, and it'll be a cold day in hell before he leaves without that house. That being said, go ahead and lock him up. The brat's pretty harmless, really, but he's a magnet for other people's troubles. Seems to draw in attention and mayhem like a fire draws moths. Not his fault really, and it's hilarious to watch from a safe distance, but it _is_ best he is kept in one place. At least that way you can keep the damage to a minimum."

"But baa-chan I didn't-"

"Shut it, gaki! You got us into this mess, so it looks like someone will have to _get you out_. It just happens that someone is _me_ this time, so _I'm_ calling the shots. You got a problem with that?" Tsunade punctuated her statement with a raised fist.

Naruto shook his head, fearing for his poor head's safety. "No problem at all baa-chan."

The mystery woman smirked as she watched the byplay. "It is nice to know we are not the only ones that no men's place."

Tsunade smirked back. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"What else could it be?"

The three of them walked in silence, well relative silence considering Naruto's grumbling. They stopped for the night on the edge of the mountain. There might not have been many people on the island, but that said nothing about the animal population. In just about any place in the wild, moving at night wasn't a smart idea when it could be avoided. The two ninja weren't frightened of what might be out there, but caution was the better part of valor.

Naruto grumbled as he set up camp while Tsunade and the woman, whom they had found out was named Kimiko, laughed about some of the stupid things men had done. Kimiko seemed to take particular relish out of the stories about Jiraiya, but those didn't start until after Tsunade had finished off the three bottles of sake Naruto had brought for the journey. Hearing about his old sensei had been painful, but Naruto decided the knowledge he gained was more than worth it.

As the night wore on, Tsunade eventually passed out, leaving Naruto at the woman's mercy... or more accurately, her at his mercy. The two had stared each other down for ten solid minutes before Naruto broke the silence.

"Why do you hate men? What did we, and I say that to include all men, ever do to earn that much hatred."

Kimiko was startled at Naruto's question. "It isn't a simple matter of hating them. It is the fact that this island is a sanctuary for women. Our ancestors came here to get away from men, and we do not bring them here to keep it safe. If the men of the outside world ever learned of what we had here, I do not think we would remain safe for very long."

"What kind of men have you met that justify this feeling? I mean I understand where they're coming from. There are some real nasty people in the world, and I've known a few guys that didn't think women should be allowed to live independent like you all are, but they're kind of the minority where I come from. Most guys in my village might tease the girls we know, but we also know not to take it too far. They'll gang up on you and kick your ass if you don't watch it."

Kimiko laughed loudly. "Ah, that sounds like a refreshing place. Truthfully I don't know much about men, as I never left the island like some do to bear children. I chose to stay and train as a warrior. I don't hate men, I just disdain them. They are weak, corrupted by an illusion of power, and often violent."

"They can't all be that bad," Naruto argued. "There's no way it could stay that way for too long. If women here are anything like back home, they'll be really sneaky. There was one girl I knew who didn't take anything from anyone - _except the guy she liked - _and she wasn't always very strong."

"In this world, everything is ruled by the World Government, which is made out of two parts - the Marines and the World Nobles. The Marines are manned almost entirely out of men, although I have heard of women getting as high as captain in the ranks. The other half, the World Nobles are people who have hold more power than any other group for no reason that I can comprehend. All they have is money, and that is easily stolen. There are women among the World Nobles, but they hold no real power. They might as well be _breeding stock_, for all the _real_ power they have. We Kuja despise them as much as we do men for that weakness."

Naruto was left to digest that for the rest of the night, wondering what his world could have been like with women living in subservience like that all the time. What if were never any kunoichi? What might have happened? He decided to stop thinking about it and get some shut eye.

The next day, the trio crossed the mountains, coming across several of the woman's comrades. Naruto took a pee break to check on his clones. He had already alerted them to the whole gender issue, and they had Henged into women he had met in his journeys. They had finished checking out the island, and a group had returned to the house to set up barrier seals just in case. That done, the trio continued their journey.

Exiting the mountain itself, Kimiko led them towards the valley held by the Kuja Tribe. They truly were a group of women fiercely independent from the male gender. How exactly they managed to continue their growth without a male was something that Naruto had only though briefly on before dismissing it as something too perverted to think about in the presence of _two_ warrior women. It hadn't been until later that he remembered Kimiko mentioning women leaving the island to find men to sire children for them.

A woman and her friends, who were passing them in the road, greeted the ladies and stared at Naruto. It was rather obvious that they had never seen a man before, as they kept glancing at him, trying to find out what it was that set him apart.

"Kimiko, who is this woman you bring with you. She is no Kuja, I can tell you that much with ease. She doesn't seem to have any Haki, or at least she has never used it. And you brought a man into the village! You know it is forbidden!"

"Yes, I _do _know it is forbidden. That is why he shall be put into the holding cells until the woman and I can settle things. The circumstances behind it _are_ rather extraordinary, though, so I think this might be an exception. The Empress will know what to do, though. Of that much I am sure."

"Very well Kimiko. Good day."

Continuing on through the village, they neared a palace that sat in the crest of the valley. The palace itself was rather beautiful, with lots of color and plenty of large openings to let sunlight in. Naruto wondered just what they did for fun, though, as it wouldn't be very easy to pull a prank in such an open place. Besides, even he knew not to mess with true art. It's why he always used washable paints on the Monument... well that and he knew they would make him clean it up. He also couldn't see these ladies taking up artsy things like basket-weaving and knitting. They just seemed too much the warrior to find any fun in such things.

Entering the palace, Naruto came face to face with one of the more beautiful women he had seen. She wasn't cute like Sakura and Hinata, nor was she hot like Anko. She was majestic and forbidding, like Kurenai-sensei or Yuki-hime. She had white hair, cut close to the line of her jaw, and a slim figure. Her face, though, spoke completely of authority. Though it looked truly kind, her expression managed to convey a sense of command that demanded compliance. "Thank you Kimiko, you may go. I am Edra Kiyane, Empress of the Kuja Tribe. Who are you, and how did you come to be on our island?"

Tsunade gave a short bow of her head, that of one high authority to another. "I am Senju Tsunade, Hokage of Konohagakure. The boy behind me is my subordinate, Uzumaki Naruto. We arrived here because of a technique handed down by his father which the boy was attempting to perform. Something went wrong, however, and pulled us through a portal, a sort of hole in the sky, dropping both myself, the boy and the estate he was living within into the forest that lies on the other side of the mountain."

"I was hoping you might have contact with someone outside of your island, but judging by both the vegetation and geography, I am almost certain this island lies completely outside of what is known to my village or any other village I have visited. I am willing to keep my subordinate within a one mile radius of his home until such time as we can arrange to move our things out of your domain, but until then, we _must_ remain together. On these points there can be little negotiation, as we will need to vary hunting grounds to ensure that animals do not avoid us. If you could also provide us with a guide to help ensure that we do not accidentally ingest something poisonous, I would be very grateful."

"I can provide a guide for yourself, but the boy really must be sent off the island. I understand that he is your subordinate, for I have many of my own, but this land is for women and women alone. We can send him on a ship, as we operate a group of pirates to keep our waters clear of all ships but our own. However, he must not remain on the island."

Tsunade decided to try a bit of negotiation. "Why could he not stay here at least a little while? As I said before we are strangers in this land. I would most appreciate having the time for him to at least acquaint himself with the ways of this world, even if he must eventually be sent away."

Naruto decided now was the time to speak up. Amazingly, they had forgotten to lock him up in the process of deciding where he should go. "Hey now, I get that you don't like guys. If men in my village were even half the jerks that your men seem to be, I'm not sure it would still be standing. But that doesn't mean you can send me off without a by-your-leave. I already told your underling this, and I'll tell you the same thing. That house is _all I have left_ from my parents. If you think you're going to send me away before I figure out how to take it with me, you've got another thing coming.

Maladora narrowed her eyes, curious as to whether or not she should test this woman. "And why should I not just lock both of you up for this impudence? Strength or no strength, I cannot brook rebellion within my lands."

This was the last straw for Tsunade. It hadn't been the best morning, as her hangover was starting to kick in from a lack of alcohol, and now this prissy little bitch was trying to assert herself on two mother fucking ninja! She was about to get the reality check of her life!

"In this case," Tsunade remarked, her eyes darkening at the obvious challenge, "you might have to."

With that, Tsunade proceeded to stomp angrily into a nearby stand of trees, shattering the ground utterly with each step. A great cracking sound echoed in the palace as she ripped the two largest trees up by the roots with ease and slammed them together over her head, shattering both into splinters. Walking back towards the palace, she made sure to put force into her footsteps _without_ it being obvious. She still managed to shatter the ground she walked on with each step.

"Now, do we have an accord _your Highness_," Tsunade questioned, "or will I need to make further... demonstrations. I must warn you, Empress; future shows of strength might not be so _benevolent_."

The Empress, visibly shaken by the sheer power Tsunade demonstrated - _without a drop of Haki_ - was quick to reply. She did not get her position by just being strong, and that wisdom showed in the full turnaround her attitude made after Tsunade blew off some steam. "I do not believe anyone will question your authority to do as you please while on this island, Tsunade-dono. I will warn the other Kuja of a man living on the other side of the island. They shouldn't bother you, but if they do please be merciful."

"I will show them whatever kindness they show me," Tsunade replied evenly. Her point made, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato walked out. Naruto followed her like a lost puppy. Sometimes he forgot just how strong Tsunade really was when she was taking things seriously.

On that day was born the legend of the True Kuja, a woman with the strength to shatter mountains with her bare hands and level entire armadas without receiving a single injury, whose gaze would destroy the spirits of even the strongest woman. Tsunade had made herself a goddess among the Kuja, women who revered strength _as_ beauty. Even Boa Hancock, in her reign, would not lightly speak the name Tsunade of the Thousand Hands, the woman with the strength of a thousand warriors in each limb.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to be more punctual about getting these out from now on, but no promises.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Another day, another chapter. Warning: to those of you who don't like them, this is a training chapter. You may read through it to get a general idea of what Naruto's training was like so future battle prowess doesn't seem unrealistic. These are his strengths, so progress will be fast and dramatic at times. Next chapter will see a time-skip and actual progression in the story. Without, further ado, here is the third chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or One Piece

Chapter Three

Tsunade and Naruto ended up spending the night in the village, not wishing to travel again in the same day. They were given permission to roam their half of the island, and Tsunade even had permission to visit the Kuja if she wished. Kimiko was given the task of escorting them back to their home the next morning. She was quite eager, having watched from behind a boulder as Tsunade demonstrated her legendary strength for the Empress. Needless to say, she was fangirling on Tsunade like an Academy girl on Sasuke.

Having reached their home, and future base, Tsunade decided to be rid of the energetic warrior. Hopefully the girl would mellow again with time. "Thank you for escorting us here, Kimiko-san. We appreciated your company, and you are welcome to come back again at a later date."

Kimiko bowed, a wide smile on her face. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama; I will be happy to visit you and Naruto-baka at a later date. Until next time, sayonara!"

As soon as she was gone, Tsunade sighed in relief and led the way to the kitchen, picking up the forgotten bottle of sake on the way and taking a drink as she sat down. "Aaaaah, Kusa sake, from the coast if I'm not mistaken. They may not grow the rice, but damn if they don't make the best sake."

For a while, the two of them just sat in the kitchen - well, Naruto just sat on the sofa in the living room. It was a good few hours before either of them felt like getting up. For Tsunade, this was just how she felt most days. The energy she remembered from her youth was all but gone nowadays, although she had certainly felt better over the last two days than she had in over ten years. For Naruto, this was simply time for his brain to catch up with everything that had been happening to him. He had lost his sensei, who had turned out to be his godfather. He had finally gotten to meet his parents. He had transported himself and his house to another continent. Thus it was that Naruto surprised Tsunade by getting up and grabbing the sake bottle. He poured himself a cup and joined her in just drinking and looking out the windows, lost in thought.

It was nearly two in the afternoon by the time they stopped sitting there. As befitting a day for surprises, it was Tsunade that broke the silence. She smacked her lips, set down the saucer, and turned to Naruto as she stretched her limbs. "Well, Naruto, the day isn't getting any younger, and neither are we, so come on. You and I have some training to do."

Naruto, given his history with sensei, was more than a little skeptical of this. "Do you actually mean you're going to train me, or is this just going to be something to keep me out of the way while you get drunk? I don't feel like being pawned off by a teacher _again_. I had enough of that with my last three, even if Jiraiya was a lot better than Kakashi, so if you're gonna do that then just tell me now. Iruka was the best about teaching, but he didn't do a very good job at it. He usually did more theory junk than practical stuff, and that was boring."

"Well, they don't seem to have any gambling or sake here, so I'm going to need to conserve our supply. Ergo, I'll be training you _to_ pass the time. Besides, I won't have to be doing any paperwork for a while. I can finally get out and stretch my legs. If what Jiraiya said about your stamina is anything to go by, we should be able to get some real training done, which will be much more fun than it was with Sakura and Shizune." At Naruto's look, she elaborated. "Okay, you and I both know they were great medic-nin, but contrary to popular belief that's not all I ever was. I was a damn good taijutsu artist on top of that. Jiraiya was the heavy hitter in ninjutsu, and Orochimaru originally did a bit of ninjutsu and genjutsu. Unfortunately, Shizune and Sakura were almost entirely medic-nin."

"I don't know how good you'll be in med-nin jutsu seeing as your control sucks like my gambling luck, so we'll be starting on my strength while your clones work on control. Sakura might have been doing a good job of understanding the chakra-based enhancement, but everyone seems to forget that I am naturally a hell of a lot stronger than the average jonin. I use chakra for the big stuff, like lifting Gamabunta's sword when we fought Orochimaru, but my arms are each strong enough to rip up a tree without too much effort."

Naruto stared at her in awe, suddenly beginning to see just where she got her legendary status. "Sooo coool! And you're going to be training _me_ to be that strong, too? That's just too awesome! I'm going to be the most amazing ninja that ever lived, dattebayo! Akatsuki better watch out, 'cause I'm gonna kick their asses off the continent!"

Tsunade laughed a bit. "Yeah, you're all full of energy _now,_ but let's see you muster that energy after one of my training sessions. Even _you're _crazy stamina will be taxed when I'm done with you. C'mon, the first task is going to be on that mountain side."

The two tree-jumped to the mountain in silence, simply enjoying the idea that they could let go of the paranoia that was a survival skill unto itself in the ninja world. Sure there were some crazy animals here and there, but not a one of them could hold a candle to the summons the two ninja had encountered in their life. It was akin to making a go through the Forest of Death, and for someone at Tsunade's level that was pretty much a walk in the park. On top of her own skill and strength, Tsunade emitted the aura of _the_ apex predator of the island. No animal with any sense of self-preservation would come within a hundred yards with intent to kill while she was around.

When they finally reached the mountain, Tsunade turned to Naruto. "Alright Naruto, the first thing we're going to do is work every muscle in your body until it has reached its natural peak. After that, we'll just keep going by adding weight. You are going to be climbing this mountain using only one limb at a time. I'd recommend starting with either of your arms. If you don't want to scrape up your body, you're going to have to find good hand-holds to lift yourself away from the mountain."

"Each day, you will switch to another limb. When you get to the point that you can climb the mountain in one day with each of your four limbs, we will begin adding weights. You will do this the first four days each week, and you'll keep the same pattern once you start. The last three days will be spent learning other things. I haven't figured out just what I want you to learn yet, so we'll just wing it for now."

Naruto just stared blankly at Tsunade. He knew training would be hard, but he had _no idea_ it was going to be this crazy. "How the hell do you expect me to climb a mountain with just one arm! It's hard enough when I have all my body to work with!"

Tsunade got in Naruto's face. "Are you saying you can't do it? Please, I was doing this stuff when I first started as a genin, and that was nowhere near as old as you youngsters do it nowadays! Now get moving before I lodge my foot in your ass and use that to _shove_ your face up the mountain!"

With a yelp, Naruto got to work. He decided to start with his right hand, as that was his dominant hand. He knew he would have to use his legs in just two days, but Naruto figured he would work on his balance with his arms before he started on his legs.

"No chakra when you're using your arms, Naruto! I want this to be all about your own strength! Any ninja could stick to the mountain if they wanted to, but I want you to be able to climb this without an ounce of chakra! You can cheat if you want, but you'll just be cheating yourself. I'll let you use tree-climbing for your legs for the first month, but after that you need to be able to keep your balance on one leg."

Naruto groaned and got moving. At least she hadn't expected him to balance on one foot the whole way up. That would have been a nightmare.

Meanwhile, Tsunade was doing everything she could not to laugh her ass off. 'He doesn't know that I started on hundred-foot cliffs. Who knew this kind of training could be so much fun to watch? If I'd known it could be so much fun, I might have started Shizune on it when I had her. Oh, well, it's not like the brat doesn't deserve this more.' "Naruto get your ass in gear! Sakura could climb faster than that!"

* * *

For the first year, Naruto pushed his body to its limits in ways he had never before imagined. On the three days he wasn't doing the mountain climb exercises, Naruto was working on his core, his extremities and his durability.

The core exercise used a machine Tsunade had managed to build... somehow. Two boulders were hung by rope over a pulley and tied to wide leather belts that ran just under his arms around the top of Naruto's chest and around his waist. Naruto would then use those muscles to pull the boulders off the ground. To make sure he worked all parts his his core, the ropes were attached to rings along each belt that appeared at two inch intervals so that he could work both the front and back as well as angles.

Another exercise Tsunade had Naruto work on was dragging himself up a relatively straight cliff with one hand in order to work on finger strength. He wasn't even allowed to bend his arm. He could just dig his fingers into the cliff side and inch his way up.

His durability was a pretty simple, if painful, exercise. She would have him make clones to punch his body as hard as it could all over to get him used to taking punishment in places that weren't his fists, feet or forehead. The only areas they took it easy were around the skull, kidneys and heart.

"The reason we are taking it easier in those places," Tsunade said, "is because it will do more harm than good to rush things. Anywhere else on the body has enough enough muscles that with time you'll be able to take more and more punishment."

"The kidneys and heart, by comparison, are vulnerable enough that healing them gives even the Kyuubi trouble, so we'll have to let those progress a little more gradually or risk slowing your training down to let injuries heal. Likewise, the head has so much bone and so little muscle that you'll just be creating hairline fractures every day. I don't want to count on the Kyuubi's benevolence to keep you from suffering weakened bones and multiple concussions."

When it got to the point he could do all of the exercises in a day, Tsunade had Naruto add weight with seals and started all over.

"From here on out," she said, "it's just a progression of resistance. The next thing you will be doing is punching and kicking a log, one thousand times for each limb. When your strength and calluses have built up to the point that you can punch or kick straight through it, we will move on to boulders. When you can shatter a boulder with one punch, we will move on to punching cliffs and so on. Just like every other exercise I will give you, this will be a matter of progression. I want you to toughen up your entire body."

* * *

Training wasn't all they did. Each day before training, Naruto would go out to fish and hunt for meat. A few clones would tend to a garden that brought them fruit and vegetables. He would clean up the house, tend the dishes, and any other chore Tsunade assigned. It was tedious work, but Naruto's clones took off a lot of the boredom, as they would use the time to throw around ideas.

In his spare time, Naruto worked on a few skills and hobbies; sometimes he worked on the Hirashin. His interests ranged from music to art, from gardening to various types of craftsmanship that he learned at the Kuja village. Basically, when Naruto was interested in something he would either work it out or travel to the village and have someone teach him.

For things like woodworking or blacksmithing, Tsunade would give Naruto a week or two off at a time to learn about it. She figured it was better to go in week-long intervals as doing it a few days at a time just wouldn't give Naruto the time he needed to learn anything that wasn't a jutsu.

When they had meals, either Tsunade cooked or she taught Naruto to cook. He learned fast, both because he liked good food and because Tsunade was actually a pretty patient teacher in the kitchen.

When Naruto was doing exercises or chores, Tsunade and Kimiko talked. What exactly they discussed was a mystery to Naruto, but the first week or two resulted in the Kuja warrior looking strangely at him, as if she was trying to see something beyond the naked eye. The attention initially unnerved Naruto, who was used to a different sort of attention or none at all.

At first, Kimiko treated Naruto in a manner similar to how his classmates would. She belittled his efforts and mocked his intelligence at every turn, with Naruto coming back with quips about everything from her fighting ability to her looks. At times, after Naruto's physical training, the two would chat about various things while Tsunade cooked a meal. One such conversation, lacking the usual bite, had touched on Naruto's determination to be Hokage.

"Why would you even attempt to be Hokage?" Kimiko asked curiously. "It's obvious that Tsunade-sama is much stronger than you. What could possibly make you more worthy of the title than her? Look at her beauty, her strength, and her intelligence. She is better than you in all those ways. What hope do you have?"

Naruto had stared at her long and hard, obviously thinking over what she had said, before looking away. He gazed upon the ocean, seeming to draw strength from the sight as he spoke. "Do you see that ocean? It's powerful and beautiful too. It can take you amazing places, and it is worthy of respect from everyone who traverses it. And yet, you wouldn't be able to ask it for guidance, because there is no current, no force to keep you moving."

Kimiko stared at Naruto, seeing him in an entirely new light. This was not the knucklehead blond that Tsunade would berate for trying to pull some stupid prank on Kuja patrols. It was not the quiet blond that would smile at you until you smiled back. Beneath that light attitude and simple thinking was a will that surpassed all others, demanding respect against all reason for his sheer audacity in opposing the entire world as he saw fit.

"That is what I think makes me worthy to be Hokage. I may not have the strength or knowledge to do the best job yet, but I have something I don't think anyone else does. I have the Will of Fire, the determination to protect my comrades, even if it costs me my life. I have the strength to sacrifice what I need to if it means keeping my friends safe, even my happiness. I have the will to defy what others see as sense in order to do what is right. That is my ninja way, and I will never back down from it."

While Kimiko still thought the blond was a knucklehead, she began to treat him a bit better after that conversation. As time passed, however, Naruto and Kimiko gradually warmed up to one another. It had started off with each mocking the other, but it gradually progressed to a warm friendship with lots of joking between them. The two would often banter, with Kimiko mocking him and Naruto hamming it up. Slowly, a camaraderie was built between the two based in a mutual respect (and a little affection) for each other. Kimiko even introduced Naruto to a few of her friends that would come by to see 'the great Tsunade-sama' training him into the ground.

* * *

After the first six months, Naruto was able to make it to the top of the mountain in half a day. At that point, Tsunade had begun sparring with Naruto.

She would never go all out, as they both knew that Naruto simply wouldn't be able to keep up. Besides that, Tsunade wasn't letting him do it in his usual manner. Naruto had to balance on one hand or foot, and he lost as soon as he couldn't stay on just one limb. He couldn't stay on a single limb for less than ten seconds or more than thirty seconds, either. When she tried to hit him, Naruto could either evade or block with one of his other three appendages.

Needless to say, Naruto got his ass handed to him for the first three months. His balance simply wasn't at a level to keep him on one limb for extended periods of time. As time went on, however, Naruto got better at keeping himself from falling over. Eventually, Tsunade had challenged him to take it to new heights.

"Alright Naruto, your balance has gotten good enough to fight on just one limb at a time. From now on, you will only be allowed to balance on one limb for the duration of the fight. When you land on another limb, you lose. Eventually you will move, fight and block with just one limb. When you've gotten good enough at that, you will evade on just one finger or the tips of your toes without blocking."

Naruto's jaw dropped. It was hard enough already! There was no way he could keep this up for extended periods of time! He'd fall over too quickly. "Baachan, please, there's no way I'll be able to do all that! It's a waste of time to try! I could be learning actual taijutsu during this time!"

"Taijutsu is a waste if you don't know what your body can do, and you'll never know if you don't try Naruto! If you want to get stronger, you have to learn to try for the impossible until it happens! People never thought a girl could rely on physical strength, but I'm one of the strongest ninja in the world!" Tsunade's face split into an evil grin. "Now choose a limb and let's get started! I've still got a lot to... _teach_ you!"

Privately, Tsunade was astounded at Naruto's ability to keep up. She herself hadn't even done most of this. Oh, she had climbed a mountain with just one hand or foot and done the cliff exercises, but by the time she'd thought up other ways to improve the war was going on. She just didn't have the time to devote to such training. As the years passed, Tsunade's mostly idle mind had thought up tons of crazy training options that would let a person increase their ability in taijutsu. It had culminated in Naruto's current training schedule.

A year into his physical training, Tsunade had taken Naruto aside before his daily training to institute new limits.

"Alright Naruto, I've had you working on any and every chakra control exercise I could think up. You'll keep working on it every day for the rest of your life, but you'll have to come up with new exercises on your own. I'm sure you can probably come up with a few or have that giant hairball in your gut give you ideas."

"From here, we'll go ahead and move on to the elemental exercises. Because of your huge reserves, I'll get you started in getting a feel for each element by having you perform a wide scale jutsu for each one. They'll be serious chakra sinks at first, but you'll be better able to move into the actual exercises once you get a feel for each element."

"Because of how much chakra you have, we'll be focusing on the exercises that increase the precision and intensity that you wield each element with. I have little doubt that you'll be able to figure out how to add power to each one on your own."

Naruto's training in the other four was never quite as extreme as it was during his first elemental chakra training, but the efforts still left Naruto worn out every day. Using twenty-five every day for each element, Naruto was able to make good progress. He wasn't in a hurry, so it was okay to take things easy. Just like his physical training, elemental training was a simple matter of progression of precision, intensity and magnitude.

Wind chakra, being his 'first love', had progressed the most. He had expanded from the cutting exercises into controlling other aspects of the Wind element like speed, chakra flow and pressure.

Having heard rumors about Danzo's 'vacuum' jutsu, Tsunade encouraged Naruto to create true vacuums with his wind affinity. The ability to remove air could become the perfect counter for fire techniques. Inversely, she wanted to see if Naruto could harden air enough to stand on it... somehow.

Naruto's ability with cutting exercises hadn't stagnated, though. He had gone from slicing a waterfall in half to carving holes into the mountain, increasing the distance to carve as each level was mastered. He had managed to carve a hole straight through the mountain about a tenth of the way down after a year. Naruto figured that the day he could cut the mountain in half with just one slice of wind chakra, he would have reached his peak.

Naruto's other four elements had made more gradual progress. Tsunade had him focus on exercises that involved precision and intensity - increasing the temperature and decreasing the width of flames, pressurizing and lengthening water, condensing and shaping earth, and focusing lightning. She reasoned that Naruto's large reserves would be naturally suited to exercises involving power, so she wanted him to learn to control it instead.

Tsunade was also helping Naruto work to increase his jutsu library. Every day she would add a jutsu from each element in the wheel, thus adding another clone to the jutsu squad. After three months, Naruto had one hundred clones per element, each working on their own jutsu every day. By the end of those last two years, Naruto had Given that each clone would use the jutsu until they dispelled in anything they could think of, Naruto became well acquainted with the jutsu and their myriad uses.

Tsunade herself had also taken up some training while on Amazon Lily after discovering a startling fact. She no longer needed her Henge to look the way she did. Her body, by means completely foreign to both Naruto and Tsunade*, had reverted to its thirty year old self.

Deciding to make the most of this, Tsunade had decided to find a challenge for her monstrous strength. She had found it in the nearby ocean, among the various Sea Kings that lived in the Calm Belt. Every week or so, Tsunade would go out there to, as she put it, 'teach these overgrown fish fry some respect'. The first time the Kuja tribe saw an eel Sea King spun about by its tail and flung into the distance, they had screamed and bolted themselves into their houses, unwilling to face the wrath of whatever had manhandled the monster. Tsunade had water-walked back, hoping to chat with Kimiko and her friends after a long day of battling the Sea King, only to find no one around much to her frustration.

From that day forward, the Sea Kings learned to tread lightly in her presence... just like every other sane creature on earth. A few would always come around from other areas of the ocean to attempt to face down the legendary woman, and all were sent off bruised and bloodied, heads sailing above the waves as they were thrown into the distance. Although the Sea Kings didn't seem to speak, they were certainly intelligent. Tsunade was adopted as an unofficial 'Queen of the Seas'. All Sea Kings would acknowledge her as a ruler... _or else_.

* * *

At the end of this three year period that Tsunade declared her oversight of Naruto's physical training to be officially over.

Tsunade knew without a doubt that in a jutsu for jutsu battle, there wasn't a ninja alive that could match Naruto. He had a year and a half of experience for _every_ jutsu he knew, plus _twenty-five years_ of exclusive training in each of his elements. Only a gravity jutsu would be able to overwhelm the five main elements regardless of their power, and Nagato was dead.

Naruto had more prowess and power in ninjutsu than any other ninja, including the Sandaime, a man hailed as the God of Shinobi. Nearly every jutsu he knew had been shortened to seven hand seals or less. Henge, Kawarimi, Kage Bunshin and the Rasengan were perfect. There was no smoke, no hand seals, and no build-up time. Truthfully, Naruto could probably go the rest of his life without using any of his other jutsu in one-on-one fights, or even fifty-on-one fights, so long as the opponent was ten feet tall or less. Larger opponents would take some more time, because Naruto hadn't yet reached the point where he could make larger or elemental Rasengan variants on the fly. He was working on it, though.

He had, near the end of the three year physical training period, actually begun to experiment with some of the secondary elements and hidden jutsu he had witnessed or heard about over the years. He was currently trying to achieve Haku's Ice release. Naruto and Tsunade believed that after he combined two elements the first time, it would be easier to do so for the rest because the only hard part was actually learning to combine them internally. Naruto also worked on recreating the Nara and Akimichi techniques; they were simply too valuable to dismiss. They were also the only ones he knew of that were worth the effort.

The various awkward exercises Tsunade had forced him to perform had given Naruto a keen spatial awareness that almost surpassed his Sage mode in close quarters. Naruto's sense of balance was so keen that even if his feet were swept out from under him, he would recover with one of his hands fast enough to counter most sword strikes with his feet.

He had learned how to wield both hands and feet with an expert precision that rivaled taijutsu specialists like Lee and Gai. It was an inhuman level of progress. This was building on Naruto's aptitude for physical combat, though, as he had been capable of facing against Sasuke's Sharingan without the Kyuubi for a time at the Valley of the End. That was no small feat considering he lacked any form to his movements.

The Kyuubi's chakra had certainly accelerated Naruto's physical growth, as Tsunade was adamant that there was no other way he could have progressed so quickly. Naruto argued that he was training day in and day out with absolutely nothing else to do, but she still knew the human body better than he did. It was simply impossible, even for an Uzumake's physique, to take that sort of strain day after day for three years without an outside influence.

"Alright Naruto, I've taken your body as far as I'm going to do so. From here on out, all you can do is continue to push past your limits. The day you can do every exercise I ever gave you in a single day without feeling tired... is the day you need to increase your resistance, be it by boulder or seal!"

"Your jutsu have nearly reached a similar peak. You have enough jutsu to handle nearly any situation you may come across. About the only thing you really have left to work on in that department are your mastery of the Hirashin and Rasengan. You can at least use the Hirashin to teleport to a single kunai, but it isn't feasible in combat yet, and according to your father's notes even he hadn't mastered it yet."

"From here on out, we're going to be working on your four biggest weaknesses: book smarts, genjutsu, fighting style and medical jutsu. I know you hate book work - given your energy levels, you're probably not out of line in doing so - but it's something you _will_ need someday. Genjutsu were another headache for you, given your chakra levels, but if you want your mind to stay _yours_, you have to be able to protect it from outside influence. These things will let you go places that raw power won't. Not everyone can just be bullied into doing what you want them to do; even _I_ ran into that a few times. You've got to learn how to deal with both people that can and those that can't match your power. Otherwise, you'll only ever make people fear you. I think you know just how much good that does."

Naruto stayed silent, as he knew exactly what she meant. In his younger years, most of the civilian villagers had been wary of him, fearful even, regardless of what he did. They knew he had incredible power within him, and it drove them to shun him. Naruto wanted to be powerful, but not at the cost of living through that for the rest of his life.

"You have yet to acquire a fighting style for hand to hand. You also have virtually no experience with any weapon that isn't a kunai or shuriken. These things will become major weaknesses when you begin facing higher level shinobi that have experience in weapons. Even with all your skill in ninjutsu, Kisame could take you apart, and Itachi didn't need ninjutsu to kill you. You'll need to acquire some sort of weapons skill, but I'll leave the choice up to you. You have the strength and dexterity to wield any weapon you choose. Truthfully, you have the strength and speed to be capable of wearing full-body armor dense enough to stop a stab wound without slowing significantly, but that would only be useful when battle is anticipated and stealth is useless."

"Most importantly, though, you will never be _truly_ strong in my book until you can beat someone to the brink of death and then _save them_. That, in my opinion, is the true peak of a shinobi. We are given chakra for a reason. There are plenty of civilian methods to destroy things, but chakra lets a ninja build incredible things, stop forces of nature and heal people in ways that science can't match. If I had my way every shinobi in Konoha would devote time to learning at least basic first aid, and the Mystical Palm would be a requirement for jonin status. So, if you want to be a jonin in my book, you're going to learn at least that much. Make a few hundred clones and let's get started."


End file.
